Sweets and Poison Apples
by legionarylogan
Summary: Set during and continuing past Our Mrs. Reynolds, Simon's point of view on the happenings on the ship and what River is going through. Last chapter is up.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N This starts near the beginning of Our Mrs. Reynolds and will cover the storyline briefly but I've got a few ideas for later chapters to branch it out and continue past that particular storyline. I'm keeping it mainly from Simon's point of view but later chapters may include other points of view as well. Anyway, please let me know what you like/dislike, etc. I haven't mapped everything out yet and would love suggestions and comments._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly._

"River...River! Sit still for a moment." Simon Tam tried to restrain his sister as she squirmed away from the needle. "I need to take some blood for a test and wiggling around will only draw this out."

"Music...music flowing through me. Listen Simon, music flowing all through us." River managed to successfully evade Simon and slipped her way out to the cargo bay floor, her bare feet making little noise. The ramp was down, inviting a warm summer evening in. In the distance, a large campfire was casting shadows across the landscape as nightfall gently descended on whatever backwater berg Serenity had managed to find itself on this time. Music gently trilled in the background as the townsfolk danced amidst torches planted in the ground. Somewhere out in the midst of all that, Captain Reynolds, Jayne, Wash, Zoe, Kaylee, and Book all enjoyed the town's hospitality after Mal, Jayne, and Zoe had rid them of a particularly relentless group of bandits. Kaylee had volunteered to stay inside with them and keep them company but Simon had insisted that she go enjoy herself. He and River were alone on the ship since Inara was off on another of her appointments.

"River, don't go too far into the bay." Simon called across to his sister. No matter how far they got out of Alliance territory, he still felt nervous that someone outside might see River, no matter how small the chance someone might actually recognize her from a warrant. He smiled as he watched as she began to dance to the music filtering into the bay. With her eyes closed, River leapt and twirled as her lithe body followed the motions of the music. She always loved to dance and even though he really should be drawing some of her blood right now, Simon couldn't bear to break up her own moment of peace. Her graceful movements brought back memories of his little sister before the Alliance got its ruthless hands on her. He thought back to her dance recitals when she was younger with a smile. She was easily the standout in her class and usually better than dancers with years more experience. Simon would never tell anyone but seeing River this serene also brought an overwhelming sense of peace to himself. This was his own private moment of tranquility that none could bring but his little sister's happiness.

As the song ended and River finished dancing, Simon brought his hands together and clapped. "Fantastic, mei-mei. That was incredible." Simon couldn't keep the pride out of his voice. If only things had been different she could have been anything with her gifts. Her logical and creative talents lent her the opportunity to do anything that made her happy and also to be successful at it. Few people in the 'verse could claim that.

River looked at him and cocked her head and explained, "Music flowing like a river through me. Have to go with the flow, stops for no person. Have to ride to avoid being swept away." With that finished she gave him a smile, one of the first normal smiles he'd seen from her since before she'd left for the academy. Her words still confused him a bit but they were less disjointed then some of what she had spoken before. Perhaps he could use her dancing as a form of therapy. It seemed to calm her and make her almost the way she had been.

All thought of this vanished as a shadow seemed to fall across River's face and she sunk to the metal floor. Simon was at her side in an instant.

"River, what's wrong? River, are you ok?" Simon asked growing more frantic. "Mei-mei, please speak to me."

River began trembling and looked at her brother. "Not right...witch has come. She'll make poison apples and lay her own deadly trail of bread crumbs." She glanced out towards the campfire. It was a ways off but it looked like Mal had been dragged to his feet by a young woman and was dancing with her.

A little uneasy with the sudden transformation back, Simon brought his sister close and embraced her until her quivering ceased and she nestled snugly into his arms. He should have known this bit of normalcy couldn't have lasted. His own moments of serenity were few and far between but hers were much more rare. Given a choice, he'd rather be constantly stressed and allow River her moments of tranquility. With a sigh, he untangled himself from River and got to his feet before helping her off the cold floor. How she never managed to catch a chill was beyond him.

"C'mon River, I still need that blood. We have to make you better and I need to run more tests before I can do that." Simon explained. "After that, we can make some dinner and get ready for bed."

"Doctor, not cook." River mumbled.

Simon couldn't help but grin. "You're such a brat, you know that?"

"Names no hurt. Food still smells bad." River stuck her tongue out at him.

"For that comment and the tongue, I'm not sure if I'll have any sweets left to give you after your blood is drawn." Simon said with a straight face.

"No!" River cried out. "Food not so bad. Doesn't smell completely like crotch."

"River!" he exclaimed. River held his gaze with a pleading look. "Well, after a compliment like that, I'm sure I can find some candy left." Simon said with a wry smile as he took River's hand and guided her back to the infirmary.

True to his word, Simon did discover some hard candy left in his medicine bag and gave a piece to River as a treat for being cooperative. Ascending the stairs together, they made their way to the dining room where they discovered Shepherd Book reading in the corner.

"Good evening Shepherd. I didn't expect you back so soon." Simon said.

"Good evening, you two." Book said with a smile on his face. "I thought it best to come back. Mal and Jayne seemed determined to drink the village dry and Wash, Zoe, and Kaylee were entertaining the locals with stories and I thought of you two stuck here. I managed to bring some food back from the celebration for both of you. Some fish, beans, and even some fruits and vegetables. The townsfolk were very generous."

"Thank you Shepherd, that's very kind." Simon said as his eyes lit up taking it all in. "River was not looking forward to another night of my cooking. I must say, I wasn't looking forward to another night of my cooking either." Simon loaded two plates with fish, fruits, and vegetables deciding to pass on the beans as they'd had their fair share of them lately. Anything that could be stored for a long time was standard fare on a ship and Simon longed for something non-standard. He brought their plates to the table, taking a seat near Book with River next to him.

"You're quite welcome. No reason the two of you should miss out on a rare, fresh meal. In fact, Miss River, I also managed to sneak away with a small piece of chocolate as well." Book held it out to her.

River looked at the small, dark piece of chocolate with something akin to wonder. "Ancient Aztecs of Earth-That-Was discovered cacao beans. They also performed human sacrifices."

"Uh, thank you very much, Shepherd. She does appreciate it." Simon managed to get out. River took the chocolate in her hand and broke it in half.

"Anti-oxidants. Heart healthy." River said seriously while gesturing with one half towards Simon.

Smiling while rolling his eyes, Simon joked, "Here I thought I was the doctor." Taking the piece from River, Simon popped it into his mouth. "It doesn't seem like it's been long since I've had chocolate, but a lot has happened." He looked over at River who seemed to be enjoying her chocolate immensely. "I'm not sure when the last time River had any. It's probably been since before..." Simon trailed off and noticed his sister's eyes going wide. "She went away." He finished lamely.

Book smiled warmly. "I've yet to meet a girl who doesn't enjoy chocolate. I was lucky to get that piece away before Kaylee spotted the rest on the table."

"Again, Shepherd, thank you for your kindness. Most of the time I feel we're ok if we stay out of everyone's way but I'd like to be more helpful than that. Taking care of River right now is a full time job in itself..." Hearing that remark, River gave him a kick under the table. "OWW! Although, she does have her moments." he finished. With that River gave her brother a sweet smile followed by one of her best glares.

"Quite all right son, I'm a Shepherd. I tend to my flock." He smiled as he pretended not to notice the sibling behavior going on. "But even shepherds need rest so I'm off to bed. Good night Simon. Good night River."

"The human body requires approximately 7 hours of sleep to function at optimum levels." River looked towards Book.

"I'll keep that in mind, dear." With that Book left for his room.

Simon looked over at River's place. For once, River had ate everything he had put on the plate for her. Perhaps because she was hungry. Probably more so because it wasn't protein mush again. Or his cooking. Given another evaluation, it probably had some combination of the three of those.

"Well, mei-mei, if you're done, let's get these dishes put away and get ready for bed ourselves." Simon took his and River's plate over towards the sink. River followed him with their mugs. After washing them and putting them away, River looked towards Simon with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Story time?" She asked, making her brown eyes go as wide as possible.

Simon couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, any requests?" Mentally, he congratulated himself on having the foresight to bring along some of her books when he visited their parents' house for the last time before breaking her out of the academy. She still loved fairytales before bed and in a way, Simon hoped that part of her would never change. It was their special moment to share before the day ended.

"Snow White." She said with a smile.

Simon frowned briefly, remembering River's reference of witches and poison apples before in the cargo bay. Surely just a coincidence? It was hard to tell, with her shifting moods. Regardless, if anything would give his little sister some peace, he'd do it. "Sure. Why don't you go get changed and I'll meet you in your room." With a serene look, she hurried off towards her room by the infirmary. Simon had finally gotten around to making up another room for himself after River had begun sleeping through most of the night. He had chosen the room directly across from hers so all she would have to do was slide the door open to see him. Most nights he would inevitably find her huddled up next to him at some point, scared awake by nightmares. Depending on the night, he would usually let her stay where she was or he'd move to the floor to give her more room. She seemed to sleep more peacefully if he was around. Having her near brought him a degree of comfort as well but he just wished that she didn't have these episodes. For probably the hundredth time since he'd rescued River, he thought darkly that those responsible were lucky they evaded any retribution at his hands.

After putting on his own pajama pants, Simon padded across the hall to River's room. She was already under her blanket, eagerly awaiting their nightly ritual. Her book of fairytales lay next to her, with the page already open to the appropriate story.

"You know genius..." Simon began teasingly as he picked up the book. "Since you're so smart, perhaps one night you should read to me."

"You do the voices better." River explained patiently. "Voices in my head are even quiet when you read."

Simon looked startled at this and quickly cast about for a way to change the subject. "You know, this book is starting to fall apart a bit. Next time we land on a decent planet, how about I see if Shepherd Book or Kaylee can find something similar in the market?"

"No." River replied. "Like this one. Good memories." She looked at him with her big brown eyes and softly said, "Very few good memories overall. Want to keep the ones I have."

Simon swallowed a lump in his throat and pretended to rub his nose, hoping to hide the movement of his hand wiping a tear that was threatening to fall from his eye. "So, all comfy?" he asked with a false cheeriness in his voice.

"Not uncomfortable. Ready to listen now."

Simon began reading, spinning the tale of a beautiful woman, poison apples, enchanted mirrors, and an evil queen. Throughout the story River watched him with wide eyes, hands tightening on her blanket whenever the queen was mentioned. When Simon arrived at the part where Snow White fell into an enchanted sleep, he glanced down and saw River had drifted off into what looked like a peaceful sleep. Her breathing, sometimes so ragged and heavy when she suffered nightmares was regular and slow. She looked so peaceful. _Why can't it always be like this?_ Simon wondered. _Who could do such things to a sweet, young girl?_ He smiled sadly at her and gently brushed a lock of her hair off her face. River smiled gently in sleep and shifted a little into a more comfortable position. Simon looked at her wistfully, before carefully getting off the bed and tucking the covers in more, wanting to make sure she stayed warm. Serenity could be a drafty place, especially down so close to the cargo bay. With a kiss to her forehead, Simon quietly slipped out, turning the light out on his way. Making his way back to his own room, he made notes on River's behavior noting that she had a pretty good day with no major episodes. He recalled his earlier observation of her dancing and made sure to put that in, hoping to find more activities that kept her happy and calm. With a small hope that things might be looking a little brighter, he shut off his own light and fell asleep.

Sobbing noises woke him some time later. Simon quickly threw back his blanket and slid his door open and made his way to River's room. She sat, rocking back and forth on one end of her bed, knees drawn up to her chest with her eyes frantically darting every which way. Simon rushed to her side and gathered her in his arms. "Mei-mei, it's ok, it's ok now. You're safe." River didn't acknowledge him right away but continued her whimpering which caused a worried frown to crease Simon's face. "River..."

"More to be seen than what is still covered, draped in shadow, the witch comes for us all. Heart of lies, spinning, burning." River trembled momentarily, her body racked with shivers. Simon touched her skin. Even with her shivering it felt like it was on fire.

"River, shush, shush. I'm here now. Simon, your brother." Simon knew that today had to have been too good to last. His heart ached for his little sister. No one should have to keep reliving their nightmares the way she did. Reaching to River's beside table, he gathered a soft cloth and the bowl of water he normally kept there for her night terrors. Gently, he rinsed her sweat soaked brow and moved to her cheeks and neck.

"Simon, don't leave me. They come when I'm alone." River looked pleadingly at her brother.

"Mei- mei, I'll never leave you. Tell you what though, why don't you come to my room and sleep there tonight. A change of location might help you sleep better and I'll be there."

"The halls of slumber echo endlessly, no peace to be had." River mumbled as Simon helped her up and to his room.

Simon paused and then with an almost inaudible sigh, he looked back into her room and shut off the light. He wished there was something he could do to help rid her of these inner demons. After settling River in his bed, he found the most comfortable piece of floor he could and curled up near the headboard. River's tiny hand snaked it way down the side of the bed and found his fingers before grasping them tightly.

Waking several hours later, Simon felt the rumbling of the ship's engine. Sometime when they had been asleep, they had taken off. Simon managed to gently slide his hand out of River's grasp and quickly changed into fresh clothes or whatever passed for fresh clothes on a ship such as this where laundry was not high on the to-do list. Sneaking a peek over at River, he saw she was still asleep. Sliding the door open as quietly as he could, Simon made his way towards the infirmary, thinking of making some more notes before the day really began. Based on what Book had told him the night before, he had a feeling he'd be prescribing hangover remedies to Mal and Jayne. Right when he was about to enter the infirmary, he heard the intercom click on and Zoe's voice came over the speaker.

"All crew to the cargo bay, all crew to the cargo bay."

Simon thought to himself, "_Now what can this all be about?"_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N Obviously, I've changed a few details and the order of some events I consider minor to fit with how I'm viewing this playing out. Nothing major but wanted to give everyone a head's up as to not expect a play by play of the episode. Also, I'm hoping the updates will come a bit quicker than one a week. This week has been crazy._

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

Halfway to the infirmary, the intercom call had stopped Simon in his tracks. He turned around and made his way back to his room to shut the door and allow River some more sleep. Poking his head in, he saw she was already awake and was in the process of pulling her sweater down over her shirt. Smiling at the tousled head that emerged from the sweater, Simon spoke. "Good morning sleepy-head."

River looked at him with a small frown. "No time in space, not morning."

Feeling better now that she had seemed to have gotten a decent night's sleep, Simon couldn't resist another jab at his little sister. "Well genius, since we just got up, I'm going to call it morning. Come here, let me brush your hair real quick. It looks like a bird nest."

Fingering the tendrils that fell around her face, River scowled at him and begrudgingly sat on the edge of the bed and turned her back to him. Simon picked up the silver inlaid brush and brought it through her hair. It was a gift from Inara and was a very fine piece of craftsmanship. When Simon had asked to borrow a brush for River, he hadn't expected something so beautiful. Inara had given it to him with a smile explaining that she had several as gifts from clients but she preferred her own simple brush. She usually ended up trading excess gifts from clients for supplies anyways so Inara was happy to give this one as a gift. The soft bristles slipped through River's tangles, gently separating her long locks, smoothing down her hair and giving it a brilliant sheen. It probably wouldn't last long, but she did seem to enjoy the sensation and that was enough for him. Simon brought the brush through one last time and patted River's shoulder.

"Ok River, I think that's about the best we can do for right now. Zoe called the crew into the cargo bay. You can stay here if you want or come with me."

"Interloper...chameleon...wolf in sheep's clothing." River fretted before standing up. "I'll go with you." she said softly. Getting off the bed with her usual grace, she walked towards the door, glancing at him over her shoulder before walking out.

Simon followed her out with a bewildered expression on his face. _What was that about?_

Catching up to River before reaching the cargo bay, Simon walked through the doorway first coming to a halt when he saw an unfamiliar woman standing next to Mal. Nobody seemed to have noticed him yet and he ducked back into the hallway. Quickly stopping River's progress before she came into sight, he motioned towards the infirmary. River's eyes widened and she shook her head. Simon put his hands on his shoulders and whispered in her ear. "Mei-mei, trust me. There's someone else in the cargo bay, just wait in the infirmary, please? I need to make sure it's safe for you."

"Not safe for you." River simply stated. With a final look, she silently slipped in the infirmary, quietly closing the door. Simon happened to glance back and saw River's sad face staring out the door's window at him. He tried to smile at her but couldn't force this one. She studied him carefully, then stuck her tongue out at him. This did the trick and Simon smiled at this.

Simon briefly wondered if these instances of his paranoia would ever cease. _Probably not anytime in the near future_, he mused. He hoped River wasn't picking up on his paranoia. He wanted her to be aware of her surroundings and be safe but didn't want her to have to be distressed about anything she didn't have to be. As of now, she had showed some improvement but nowhere near what he was hoping to have done by this point. Some of the damage done to her may be irreversible but that didn't mean he wouldn't try to help her with what he could. But there was nothing he could do at the moment, so he tore his gaze away from the infirmary and walked into the cargo bay.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_Wife..._ Simon mused shortly afterwards. So, according to the young lady Saffron, Mal had married her in some village custom last night. Going through his notes in the infirmary, Simon snorted. If Mal's bloodshot eyes were anything to go on, Simon believed him when he said he didn't remember marrying anyone last night. Laughing inwardly, Simon could hardly wait to congratulate the captain and his new "bride" later. He was pretty sure Mal wouldn't shoot him in front of her. Maybe it was best to wait on that until he knew for certain. Regardless, Mal didn't seem to be in the best mood right now. Simon supposed having something like an impromptu marriage thrown on someone recovering from a hangover would do that to any person.

Glancing around, his eyes automatically darted to under the counter where River would hide and play while he worked. It was empty. For the moment, Mal and Simon had decided it might be best to sequester River in Inara's shuttle for awhile until they could get a better read on Saffron and what the plan to do with her would be. River was the one constant in his life right now and even though it was nice to get some time to himself, he missed the simple comfort her presence brought him. He would continue to work with her and try to make her better but no matter what happened as long as she was here with him now, that was enough. He had left her with some paper and colored pencils and she had taken to them quickly when he was leaving. When he left, Inara had taken a seat on the floor with River and was intently watching her draw, complimenting her technique with her usual grace. Inara promised to stay with River and keep an eye on her while Simon worked and the rest of the crew tried to figure out what to do about Saffron. She seemed harmless enough but Simon had learned the hard way about people not being what they seem. Gripping his pencil with that line of thinking, he thought of his parents not believing him about River, Dobson who turned out to be an Alliance lawman, and recently the people in that small village on Jiangyin who attempted to burn she and him at the stake. Right now, he could trust few people and really none that weren't part of the crew. He still kept a wary eye on Jayne. Simon couldn't be positive that Jayne wouldn't try to sell River and him out if it profited him but he had to try to trust the man. If he couldn't trust Jayne, he knew he could trust the captain. Coming back for River and he on Jiangyin was proof of that. With a sigh, he forced himself back to his work. Saffron may very well be a pleasant girl but for now, the risks outweighed any potential gains of letting her know too much. Plus, he had enough on his mind without adding to it.

A knock came at the door and Wash entered the room. "Hey Doc, have you got a minute?"

"Surprisingly as nobody has been shot in awhile, I do have some free time. What can I do for you?" Simon replied.

"I just wanted to stop by and let you know what's going on with Saffron and the captain." Wash said. "Mal wants to drop her on Beaumont which we should hit in a few days. He thinks it's ok for River to be where ever she wants to be out on the ship although he did mention specifically that I was to emphasize _within reason_. Mal doubts that they get many Alliance outstanding warrant bulletins where Saffron is from and where we're dropping her isn't a friend of the Alliance either."

"Well, that's great news. Saffron seems very nice, but right now I could do with a little less excitement and subterfuge after my last outing." Simon said with a wry smile.

"Being nearly lit on fire will do that to you, I imagine." Wash agreed with a smile of his own. "By the way, not that I mind but I seem to be missing two of my dinosaurs from the bridge. Any idea where they might be?"

Simon walked over to a drawer and pulled the plastic molded figures of a tyrannosaurus rex and stegosaurus out. "I'm sorry Wash, I've got them here. River snuck away from me yesterday and when I turned around she was playing with them and I meant to return them to you this morning. I've never understood her fascination with dinosaurs. She used to pretend the Independents used them against the Alliance. I feel guilty because she should have asked but I couldn't bear to break up her peace these past few days." Simon paused for a moment, thinking. "Can I purchase them from you? I don't have much cash on me at the moment but as soon as I do..."

Wash held up his hand, cutting him off in mid-sentence. "Wouldn't hear of it, Simon." Wash said with a grin. "You tell River to go ahead and keep those, I still have lots in Zoe's and my room. I'll just replace those from my stock. She has good taste with the T-Rex and stegosaurus. Two of my favorites. Perhaps I can even come down here sometime and play dinosaurs with her. Lord knows I can't get anyone else on this ship to use their imagination in any way."

Simon briefly imagined his infirmary overrun with toy dinosaurs in mock battles and Wash and River gleefully in the middle of it. He sighed thinking, _the things I do for my sister..._ "I'm sure River would have a good time with that." Simon said with a forced smile. But it was certainly nice that someone wanted to do things with River and take time to spend with her. Kaylee, Wash, Inara, and Book had all gone out of their way to show kindness to River and Simon deeply appreciated it.

"Great. Anyway, just wanted to stop by and let you know about Saffron. We should also be able to pick up a job or two, keep us flying." Wash ran a hand through his hair and said, "I can tell you're still a little twitchy from River being out of your sight, so why don't you go fetch her? Probably do you a world of good." With a final smile, Wash left the infirmary.

Simon stretched briefly and decided that Wash was probably correct. He couldn't concentrate as well with River out of his sight and it wasn't fair that Inara was watching her for him. Heading into the cargo bay, he caught a glimpse of Book spotting Jayne on the weight bench, talking and smiling. _Now those two are definitely an interesting pair_ Simon thought. He never would have thought a friendship between men from such different backgrounds could exist but Book had an air about him that put almost anyone at ease. Even Jayne couldn't find a problem with the preacher. With a grunt, Jayne maneuvered the bar back into position and switched places with Book.

"Simon!" Kaylee called out as she spotted him from the upper catwalk where she was talking to Zoe.

"Kaylee, hi..." For some reason, Simon still felt nervous around Kaylee. Her boundless enthusiasm seemed to increase when she was around him. She also had a talent for tripping up his tongue whenever he spoke to her.

Bouncing down the stairs, Kaylee came right up to Simon. "Don't see you much out of your infirmary these days, what's the special occasion?" She asked teasingly.

"I...uh, was on my way to see Inara." Simon managed to get out. "She was watching River for me while the captain was deciding what to do with the whole "wife" situation. He's decided that since Saffron is getting off soon enough that River doesn't have to stay in hiding any longer. Which is a good thing since there aren't any free rooms away from ours and River still isn't sleeping well..." Simon trailed off.

"Poor thing, I'm sorry about that." Kaylee's eyes were full of sympathy.

"Thank you for your concern. I'm trying my best but I only have limited information to go off of and I'm certainly not a specialist in neurology so I can only do so much." Simon's heart ached as his realization was voiced. He hadn't been very open with the crew and he felt some relief talking to someone about his struggles.

Kaylee surprised him by giving him a quick hug and smile. "I think what you're doing for River is sweet. Not many people would give up everything and continue to do everything they possibly could for their sibling."

"I never had to think about it. It was never a choice for me. It was the right thing to do and I'd do it over again in a heartbeat. She's my sister, my mei-mei. When we were kidnapped on Jiangyin, she told me that she understood what I gave up. That I gave up everything I ever had. I told her that she was everything I ever had. She is what I treasure the most. Not being a surgeon, the Core Worlds, or all the money in the 'verse. " Simon's eyes grew slightly watery at the memory but held his tears at bay.

Kaylee was silent a moment. "Wow, Simon. She's certainly lucky to have a brother like you. Must be nice to have someone care for you so much..." she trailed off.

Simon didn't seem to notice, still wrapped up in that emotional memory in what passed for a hospital on Jiangyin, when it seemed like River was herself again. Those moments might be few and far between but he would cherish each one of them.

"Umm...Earth-that-was to Simon?" Kaylee waved a hand in front of his face. "Mind if I come with you to see Inara?" she asked hopefully.

"Not at all." Simon snapped back to reality and replied with a smile.

At the entrance to Inara's shuttle, Simon raised his hand to knock while Kaylee strode in. With his fist only inches from the threshold, Simon looked at it and decided it would probably be ok to follow Kaylee in. The first thing he saw was River curled up on Inara's bed. Her eyes opened when she heard them enter and she smiled slightly. Simon returned her smile and went and squatted down by the bed. Kaylee walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes sneaking glances at Simon every so often.

"She drew for quite awhile after you left and decided to take a nap a short while ago." Inara had gotten up from her reading on the couch and had walked over to Simon and handed him a stack of papers.

Simon looked at her drawings, smiling at her natural talent displayed on the pages. "Mei-mei, these are incredible." Looking back to Inara, Simon continued.

"It's good that she's sleeping when she can. She seems ok to take naps but her nightmares seem to materialize when she sleeps for longer periods of time." Simon said with a smile as River rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Well, she still twitched at some points but there didn't seem to be much cause for alarm. I did catch her muttering something about poison apples though." Inara stated softly.

Simon frowned. "She mentioned something about that yesterday too in the cargo bay while everyone else was out. I know her thoughts can be disjointed but I wonder what's she thinking?"

"Thoughts are a kaleidoscope, wheeling images through the stream of time." River explained. "Shifts come about through a crack, unexpected, unwanted." She looked at Inara, "Remember the story, awaken with a kiss."

"Well, I guess that doesn't really explain much but if she hasn't had any nightmares lately then I'll take it. River, I think we've kept Inara busy long enough." Simon looked at River with a smile.

Simon stood up with a stretch and slight groan as he felt his joints popping. Reaching down, he took River's hand and gently pulled her to her feet. "Thank you again Inara. I shouldn't have to intrude upon your time again."

Inara smiled her warm smile. "It was no intrusion at all. River is a wonderful girl and I'm glad to help." Her lips pursed tightly before asking in a cool voice, "and how is the captain's 'wife' doing?"

"I haven't really spoken to her at all but Wash came and told me that the Captain plans on dropping her off on Beaumont. We should be there in a few days. Apparently Mal isn't taking to being a madly in love newlywed." Again Simon thought of his desire to pass on his congratulations. Remembering Inara's voice, maybe it really wouldn't be such a good idea.

"No, I imagine not." Inara's face seemed to brighten at the news. "Kaylee, stay with me for awhile. We have much to talk about. I'll make some tea."

Simon looked guiltily over in the corner where Kaylee had taken a seat. He had forgotten about her in his haste to see River and speak to Inara.

"Go on Doctor Tam, lots to do." Kaylee said with a smile that seemed forced and lacking her usual enthusiasm.

Simon and River walked out of the shuttle, Simon muttering to himself as the shuttle door slid shut. "Now what did I do?" River just looked at him with some combination of pity and disbelief, shook her head and skipped down the stairs.

"Hungry Simon, want lunch. Maybe leftovers from last night if we hurry. " She called out.

Catching up to his sister just before the dining room, Simon was surprised to see Mal, Wash, and Zoe sitting around the table. Wash and Zoe looked to be trying and failing at keeping a straight face as Saffron diligently served the captain his meal. Mal looked up to see Simon and River paused in the door way and mouthed "Not one word."

Simon caught a shift in River's body position out of the corner of his eye and looked towards her. She had a hostile expression on her face as she gazed towards Saffron. Simon had never seen his sister this way before and something about it unnerved him. He hesitantly touched her arm and when she looked towards him, her face had changed back into a blank mask. Still a little startled, Simon led River in and had her sit next to Wash while he went to find something to eat for them.

Simon couldn't help but think that this was certainly shaping up to be an interesting trip.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N Hope everyone is enjoying it so far. Thanks for everyone who has reviewed and please keep them coming. _

_RionaEire: Glad you're enjoying it so far. In the following chapters I'm certainly going to try and get more of River in the picture. Sometimes I think I have good River moments then read them back and erase them. Love writing for her but I want to make sure I get it right. Also glad you're enjoying the humor. I'm trying to capture Simon's dry sense of humor so I hope that's working. _

_Bytemite: Glad you enjoyed the dinosaurs scene. That came to me one day when I should have been working and had to scribble down the idea for that so I didn't forget it. I can see Wash and River doing that and having the grandest of times._

_Still don't own anything. Maybe next week, right?_

Simon walked over to the refrigeration unit intending to dig out the leftovers that Book had provided River and himself from the meal in the village. Moving the few items around, he could see that there didn't seem to be any leftovers from last night in there. Taking a look towards the stove, an empty pot answered his unasked question and judging by Mal's cleaned plate that was the last of it. Saffron stood close to Mal with a guarded expression on her face, awaiting Mal's judgment of her culinary skills.

"Mighty tasty." Mal said, slightly uncomfortable with everyone's attention on him.

"No more." River stated flatly looking towards the empty cooking pot.

"It's ok River, there's still plenty of beans, that will be better than the protein cubes." Simon quickly said, pulling the dishes out. He prayed that River wouldn't get too upset. While he did admit he had looking forward to another fresh meal, River could take things differently. He had already caught her glare towards Saffron when they first entered. As far as he knew, River hadn't seen or spoken to Saffron yet so he wasn't sure what that was all about.

Perhaps feeling the icy tension in the room, Saffron walked over to a cupboard, opened it and extracted something while speaking nervously. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to prepare my husband a decent first meal." Mal nearly choked at those words. Glancing next to him, Simon saw River narrow her eyes at this. He also guessed that Mal hadn't told Saffron the latest plan involving her getting off at Beaumont yet. Continuing, Saffron looked over at Simon again. "I'm sorry, it's been quite a shock adjusting. You're Simon right? And this young lady is...?". Saffron looked towards River.

River stood up from her seat, threw another glare at Saffron and marched out, her boots clomping down the metal hallway.

Simon stared after her, a confused expression crossing his face. "Um, that's my sister. If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on her." With that Simon hurried out of the dining room. He looked down the hallway not seeing any sign of River. It was strange too. Simon had seen River in a variety of emotional states since she had come out of cryo but this was new. If Simon wasn't mistaken, River was angry. Really angry. He could tell by the way she left with the lack of her usual grace, stomping out of the dining room. Judging by everyone else's confused stares, they noticed too.

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Checking all of River's usual hiding places, Simon was coming up empty. He'd been searching for at least half an hour and Serenity wasn't the largest ship to begin with. _She's only been on this ship a few months and she probably knows it better than the captain..._Simon thought. Standing in the cargo bay, Simon sighed and gave up. "River??" He called out. "River, please come out. I'm sure you can hear me, now come on out."

With a slight screech of metal as a panel was removed, River's head poked out of one of the many smuggling holes located in the cargo bay. "Rabbit warrens." She explained. "Have to burrow, hide from the wicked queen."

Simon sighed and came over to help River extract herself. "Why didn't you come out sooner? I was looking all over for you."

River looked at him, her eyes sad. "You didn't ask." She softly explained before gracefully pulling herself up and seating herself on a crate against the wall. "Happening too fast, thoughts fly by. Bottom soon to drop out."

Simon came over and squatted down before her. "What's happening too fast? River, is there something you're worried about?"

River gave him one of her best condescending looks.

"I mean more than normal." Simon corrected himself.

"Covered in shadows, the tranquility of deception descends." Seeing her brother's confused expression, she tried to modify her response. "Nothing is as it seems." she added darkly.

With that, River hopped off the crate and made her way out of the cargo bay.

Simon stared after her for a long time, lost in his own thoughts.

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Simon looked over his charts in the infirmary. He was in the process of analyzing River's blood work for clues on her reactions to various medications when River walked in carrying a red pillow. Before he was able to question where she got it, she took his arm with a smile and gently pulled him out of the infirmary. Walking into the common room, he nearly ran right into Shepherd Book.

"It seems River doesn't want me making up a room for our young guest." Book said with a hint of amusement in his voice and slight confusion on his face. "Either that or she's starting a pillow collection."

River glanced at Simon, her eyes searching his, absentmindedly picking at the pillow she clutched tightly to her chest. Simon returned her gaze, wondering what was going on. With a sigh and a tired smile he turned back to Book.

"I'm sorry. I'll take care of the room..." He started to say.

"Not important!" River said with a gleeful smile. She looked at Simon. "Tell him."

Confused, Simon looked back at her. "Tell him what?"

River took Simon's arm pulling him close to her and smiled at Book. "We want you to marry us."

"What?!! No!! No!" Simon exclaimed as a shocked expression crossed his face. He turned to see Book's face holding an unreadable expression. Simon turned back to River. "What??"

"Two by two. Everyone a match, a mate, a doppel. I love you." River explained with a gentle smile.

Simon's mind raced trying to keep up with this strange turn of events. "Now River, mei-mei, of course I love you too but we can't be married." Simon saw the light in River's eyes dim and felt badly for a moment before remembering the topic of conversation. Turning to Book, he said in a low voice, "She's really crazy."

Unfortunately, River heard him and lashed out with her foot, connecting with his shin for the second time in two days. "OWW!" Simon exclaimed hopping on one foot. "River, owww... I don't mean crazy. That's just not something brothers and sisters do." River opened her mouth to say something but Simon saw where this was going and quickly cut her off. "Ok, maybe on some planets, but only pretty bad ones." he finished lamely rubbing his sore shin.

River still did not looked convinced. "The captain took a wife." she stated matter-of-factly.

"That's also complicated." Book interjected trying to conceal his mirth.

"I don't know where this is coming from." Simon said looking to Book.

"We'll take care of each other." River pleaded. "I'll knit." Seeing the bewildered expression still on her brother's face, her own face fell. "You don't love me."

Simon felt the need to correct this as soon as possible. River's delicate emotional state had been mostly in balance the past few days and he had no desire to upset it now. Taking her hand in both of his, Simon looked River right in the eyes. "No, no. Mei-mei, I love you more than anything. It's just as I explained. We can't be married but that will never mean I don't love you or I don't want to be around you or even to take care of you. You're my little sister and you'll always have a special place in my heart reserved only for you. Nobody can ever have that space but you and you can never be replaced. Remember what I told you before. Everything I have is right here." He let go of her hand to grip her shoulders briefly before taking her hand again.

River looked slightly placated at this. "Promise?" she asked, her eyes meeting Simon's.

"I promise, River. With everything in me, I promise you." Simon squeezed her hand gently in both of his at this point. She searched his eyes before nodding and smiling.

"What's going on here?" Mal arrived with Saffron in tow.

Simon really didn't know where to begin or how to explain so he simply settled for a simple, "I really couldn't say."

Mal frowned and looked towards Book. "I was going to show Saffron to her room. Is it ready?"

Simon felt his face go red slightly as Book told Mal that once upon a time, it had been ready. Thankfully Book didn't mention River was the reason it wasn't now. River was still plucking at the pillow in her hands but her eyes hadn't left Saffron since she had appeared and she was scowling slightly at her. Simon noticed this and questioningly looked towards her. She inclined her head towards Saffron and looked back at him to see if he got it. Simon was still confused. River tried again, exaggerating the movement of her head towards Saffron. When Simon still didn't get it, River blew a frustrated puff of air out of her mouth and chose that moment to speak up.

"You're a thief." River directed towards Saffron. For a moment, nobody said anything, stunned by River's accusation.

"River!" Simon hissed.

She turned her dark eyes on him and mumbled. "It's true."

"Whoa now, little miss." Mal said with a frown. "That's an awfully large leap you're taking. Anything to back that up?"

River looked down at the floor before muttering again, "It's true. The thief enters the house through the front door, no one ever suspects."

Now Simon was truly confused. River seemed to have a lot of animosity towards Saffron for no clear reason Simon could see. _Now if it had been Jayne_, Simon mused, _I could completely understand._

Saffron's soft voice interrupted his contemplations. "I'm sorry, I didn't know when I was to be fed." She said pulling a nutrient packet out of her pocket. "There was nothing left but scraps after I prepared my husband's meal." Simon saw Mal wince again and had to suppress the urge to grin. He had no real desire to get hit again by Mal.

River turned towards her brother, concealing a smile from the others as she nudged him. "Told you." she said quietly.

Rolling his eyes at her, Simon wondered again how she knew about Saffron.

As if reading his thoughts, River spoke up. " I didn't see it."

Simon looked back at his sister while Mal firmly lectured Saffron. River's behavior truly was puzzling to him. She had always been very perceptive of her surroundings but it seemed like that trait had been increased in her time away from him at that place...Simon gritted his teeth again at the thought. Turning back to the conversation at hand, he only caught the tail end of what Mal was saying.

"...And I've got no use for people taking what ain't theirs." Mal finished.

"Yes, we frown on that here." Book said with a straight face. How he was able to pull that off, Simon had no idea. He knew he couldn't have done it. Seeing the tension still in the air, Book quickly spoke again. "Saffron, why don't I show you to your room. I just have to tidy it up again but it will only take a moment."

Book left with Saffron to her room, while Mal stomped off to the bridge, muttering about not getting any respect from passengers, let alone crew.

Simon turned back to River, noticing that River had placed the pillow under her sweater. "Now we might have to be married." River explained. "I'm in the family way." gesturing to her expanded abdomen.

River giggled as Simon's eyes bulged in disbelief before River pulled the pillow out, whacking him across the face. "Silly Simon. Eyes will stick like that if you keep them that way." Skipping back towards her room, she turned around one more time, laughing at her brother before sliding her door shut.

Wash and Zoe came down the stairs then. Zoe spotted Simon and made her way over.

"You do know you've encouraged my husband to spend even more with his dinosaurs. All he's done so far this morning is talk about his impending dinosaur battles with River and now he's on his way to pick out the 'very best' ones to show her later." She spoke in a no nonsense tone but Simon could see a sparkle behind her eyes that was rarely there.

"I know! I hope River is as excited as I am." Wash interjected. Nudging his wife playfully he spoke. "Like I told Simon, some people just lack the imagination to have some fun. Everyone loves dinosaurs! Who can honestly say they don't like dinosaurs?"

Simon began to get the impression that if this kept up, the upcoming dinosaur battles would probably spill into the common area outside the infirmary. He wondered who might pilot the ship during all this. _Wouldn't that be something. We drift so far off course because our pilot is busy playing dinosaurs with my genius, fugitive sister._ Simon thought to himself. Still laughing Zoe walked towards their bunk, Wash still happily discussing the merits of dinosaurs and improvements of crew morale.

Simon went and sat down on the couch, glad for a moments peace. He began reaching for his medical book to read up more on some promising articles he had found regarding neural lapses when a bubbly female voice reached his ears from the cargo bay.

"I can't wait to make planet fall. Maybe the captain will let us get off for awhile. Much as I love Serenity, the ole girl can become claustrophobic after awhile."

"I know Kaylee, I don't think I'm going to be picking up any clients this far out. Perhaps, we could go do some shopping, just the two of us." Inara's voice also floated out.

"Inara! That'd be great." Kaylee squealed. "Maybe you can help me look for something I can look a little more respectable in. Maybe get Simon to notice me more and not just the engine grease on my face."

"Kaylee, you don't need to dress yourself up to get Simon to notice you. Besides, he has enough things on his mind with River so I'm not sure if it's worth your effort at the moment. Just be yourself and be supportive of him. I'm sure he already sees what a wonderful girl you are." Inara said.

"Well, it'd be fun to look and I'd have something for when I do..." Kaylee came around the corner and nearly jumped in shock seeing Simon sitting on the couch seemingly engrossed in a book. "Simon! Uh, how long have you been there?"

"Awhile, just catching up on some reading. River has settled down for a bit. She didn't sleep too well last night so I'm grateful she's resting now." Simon smiled at Kaylee and greeted Inara as she stepped into the room as well.

"Um...You didn't happen to hear us did you?" Kaylee asked blushing.

"I just heard you say you'd have something and then I saw you. I was pretty focused on my reading." Simon said with an inward smile.

"Oh, ok! Great. I mean that's fantastic that you're so focused on your reading. Anyway, I need to go. Um...I need to check something in the engine room. I'll see you later." With that, Kaylee practically fled from the room, her cheeks bright pink.

Inara took a seat next to Simon and spoke. "So, never a dull moment on board is there?" she said with a warm smile.

"Seems there's always a new adventure of some kind. Some of us get shot or stabbed, others nearly get burned at the stake, and then others get married without realizing it. I can honestly say that I didn't expect this when I booked my charter on Persephone."

Laughing, Inara asked, "Well, would you change any of it? I mean, maybe the burning at the stake part."

Simon laughed as well before a resigned look came over his face. "The only part I would change would be if something could help River. She's been more up over the past few days but she can also hit the lows hard. I don't know how much I can do for her here and really how much I can do at all even if I had the proper equipment."

Inara put her hand over Simon's and looked at him. "Simon, you are doing so much for River right now. You're all she has and I can't think of anyone that'd be better to be with her right now. She was wonderful with me earlier and I don't mind looking after her again sometime so you can have some more time to your studies or maybe just some free time. I'm sure Kaylee would love to show you around some of the planets out on the Border sometime and there is more on the ship then just the infirmary." She said with a small smile.

"I know, it's just hard to think about anything else right now. I guess I do get a little caught up in everything else. Maybe I do need to relax a little more and unwind." Simon said.

With that Inara gracefully stood up. "Just think on it Simon. Even the best doctors need some down time as well." She smiled and left Simon sitting on the couch, thinking on her words.

At this moment, Jayne came clomping down the stairs, semi-automatic rifle in hands. "I can't believe that gorram fool. Vera is worth at least three times that wench Mal picked up. What kind of man can pass up a deal like that?" Seeing Simon, Jayne hollered across the room, "Can you believe that man? Mal wouldn't trade the woman for Vera here. I mean, this is a mighty fine piece of hardware, holds thirty round magazine, custom grip, laser sight, light as a feather, and nearly no recoil. I polish her every night, best damn piece of machinery on this boat." Seeing Simon's dumbfounded face, Jayne sighed, shook his head and made his way towards his bunk. "Don't know why I'm asking you. Hell, if you knew a damn thing about a woman or a gun I could ask you. Maybe I'll go ask Zoe, I bet she could give me a straight up answer." Pushing by Simon, Jayne made his way out the door.

Simon stood alone in the common room trying to decipher when and where the entire ship had gone insane.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I've been checking mail and email but no, I still haven't received any legal rights to Firefly no matter how many times I ask politely. I own nothing._

Simon had just finished getting ready for bed when he heard a soft tapping at his door. Smiling, he went to open it, expecting to see his little sister. The gentle raps sounded like hers. Instead, he was quite surprised to see Saffron there.

"Saffron...hello. This is unexpected. What brings you here?" Simon asked, surprise on his face.

"I couldn't sleep and I just thought I might see if you were still awake and interested in talking a bit." Saffron asked shyly.

"Oh...of course. I mean, I wasn't doing anything important. I just planned on looking in on River before I went to sleep myself but that doesn't have to be done now. What's on your mind?" Simon walked over and took a seat on the edge of his bed. He was somewhat uncomfortable when Saffron took a seat close to him.

"I guess I just wanted to know a little more about the Captain. He told me a little while ago that he was dropping me off on Beaumond and I know I'll never see him again but I just wanted to know more about him. He seems so different than any man I've met before." Saffron said.

"I haven't been on this ship long. That's probably more of a question for Zoe or Wash. But, my impressions of the captain are that he is a decent man. He has a devout loyalty to his crew and a strong sense of honor to his friends. He can be quick to anger and isn't afraid of a fight or taking somebody apart if he has to." Simon replied.

"Sounds like a complete mix of a man. Definitely one I'm not sure I want to give up. Not many men like that in the universe. There's certainly no men like that back where I'm from." Saffron said somewhat coyly. "I really do need to speak with him at some point soon though. Can you tell me where his quarters are?"

"Um...Saffron, I really probably shouldn't...I mean, it's not my place..." Simon started to say.

Saffron placed a finger to his lips, silencing him for the moment. "Shhh. All I want to do is thank him again for taking me this far. After I thought on what he said, I realized he'd be doing me a favor by dropping me off somewhere new. I can get a fresh start. A little talk between friends is all I want." Simon noticed something flashing behind Saffron's eyes, not something he would associate with a sweet, innocent girl from a border moon. It appeared to be something harder, cold and calculating. He began to slowly inch away and Saffron slowly inched closer.

Suddenly Simon's door slid open quickly. River stood in the doorway, a hard look in her eyes. Glaring at Saffron, she came and sat down between her and Simon. Looking back at her brother, she spoke. "Nightmares, terrors come for me. Cold and darkness. Can't sleep. Need warmth, love. Want to stay here."

Feeling relieved, Simon stood up. "Of course, you can stay here, River. Saffron, if you'll excuse us, it's been a long night and I need to see to my sister. I"ll talk to you later on."

Saffron's eyes flashed again and for a minute Simon could have sworn he saw a shadow rise up behind them before it was quickly gone. "Of course. I should be going to bed myself." she said. "Sleep well, you two." With that Saffron left the room, closing Simon's door behind her.

As soon as the door slid shut behind Saffron, River spoke up. "Don't like her. Dark inside her. No light."

"I don't know about not liking her but there is definitely something she is hiding. Another mystery, little sister. Why don't you get in bed? I'm going to get some of your blankets off your bed so I can have something between me and the cold floor." Simon smiled. He knew he'd sleep anywhere just so she could be comfortable.

Simon walked out into the hallway and opened the door to River's room. Her bedding had been tossed about. He sighed. It looked like her nightmare had been a particularly bad one, given the state of the room. He'd help her pick it up tomorrow. Right now, he just wanted to get some sleep. Pulling two blankets from the tangled pile on the floor, he backed out of the room. Turning back to his own room, he glanced down the hallway and frowned. Saffron's door was still open. Slowly walking towards it, Simon strained to hear if she was inside. Moving forward as if to walk right by, Simon went by the open door, stealing a glance as he did so. Saffron was not inside. _Now where could she be? _Simon pondered. _Well, it's not like she could get into too much trouble right?_ Simon tried to convince himself. In the back of his mind, something about the situation seemed bothersome but it might be the lack of rest talking. Simon shook his head, trying to clear it and decided to see if there was a way to discretely bring his and River's concerns to the captain tomorrow. For now, he'd settle for a good night sleep.

"River, do you want anything to help you sleep?" Simon asked as he spread her blankets on the floor. When he received no answer, he turned around and took in the scene before him. River had curled up under his blankets, a serene expression on her face. He walked over towards her and knelt down next to the bed. For a short time, Simon just watched her sleep, a small smile creeping over his own features. He gently took her hand from where it rested on top of the mattress and intertwined his fingers with hers. River shifted slightly in her sleep and a smile came across her face. Simon carefully placed her hand under the blanket, kissed her forehead and settled down on the floor, hoping for a peaceful night for the both of them.

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It seemed like only a few minutes passed before Simon awoke to River's horrifying shriek. Leaping up, he stumbled, the blankets still twisted around him. Finally freeing himself, he rushed to River who was sprawled on the bed, shaking violently and holding her head between her hands, still screaming.

"River! River, it's ok. River, I'm here. Please, please, River. I'm here. Simon, it's Simon." Simon tried to place his hands around her but in her nightmares, River tried to fight him off, not knowing who he was. River fought with a strength that didn't seem possible considering her small size. Regardless of River's flailing fists, Simon managed to wrap his arms around her slender frame, bringing her close and trapping her hands. Quickly stroking her cheek, Simon tried again. "River? River, it's Simon, Simon." he murmured. River's eyes flew open, darting around before resting on Simon's anxious face staring at her. "I'm here. Are you ok?" He asked tenderly, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

"Too late, Simon. Too late." River sobbed.

"Mei, mei, what's too late?" Simon asked, almost afraid of her answer.

"She's come."

"River, who's come? What's wrong?" Simon was starting to panic a little now. She hadn't had such a violent breakdown in quite some time and Simon couldn't think of any reason for it. He had hoped she wouldn't have those again.

"The end. Simon, the end is coming." River cried out.

No matter how Simon looked at it, he was frightened, angry, and a little disturbed at this. He was frightened for River and the horrors she was witnessing. He was angry, more than angry, at the people responsible for doing this to his precious sister and he was disturbed that this could come seemingly out of nowhere.

"River, do you think you can stay here for a moment? I'm just going the infirmary to get a smoother for you. It will calm you down. I promise, that's all I'll give you. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Simon reluctantly let go of River, really not wanting to leave her but knowing some medicine might calm her down. Walking over to the door, he looked back at River one more time before attempting to slide his door open. The door appeared to be stuck. Frowning, Simon applied more pressure. Still the door resisted his attempts. Why did the ship have to fall apart at the worst times? Leaning his shoulder into it, Simon felt the door give slightly before becoming jammed again. This didn't make any sense. If he didn't know any better, it'd seem like someone had jammed the door shut from the other side. He slid the door open as far as he could, creating a small gap. He looked back at River who had taken an interest in Simon's attempts to get the door open. Simon really didn't like having an audience when he was struggling with something but at least River had calmed down somewhat. If this wasn't a serious situation, he'd expect her to laugh at him.

"Stuck, Simon. Not happen without help." River stated the obvious.

"I know, River. Can you do something for me? I need something I can use as a lever, can you look around and see if you see something?" Simon asked.

River hopped down from the bed and glanced around the room.

"Too spartan, space people live plainly. Nothing without reason. No levers."

"Great, just great." Simon muttered.

"Small River flow through." River said matter-of-factly.

Simon looked at the gap he'd created and looked back at his sister. River just might be slender enough to fit through. She could see if she could un-jam the door. Or if nothing else, she might be able to go get help. "Ok, River. I'm going to push this as far as I can. I want you to slip out. If you can't, it's ok. I don't want you getting stuck or hurt though. On three, ok?" River nodded her acceptance. One...two...three!" On three, Simon pushed the door as much as he could. With grace that Simon could only envy, River slipped under his arms and lithely squeezed through the gap between the frame and the sliding door.

Simon let the door shut. He could hear River on the other side. It seemed like she was pulling on something by the way the door would shake slightly. With an audible *PING, something came free.

"Portal open, Simon." River's voice floated through the door.

Simon slid the door open fully, revealing his little sister holding a thin piece of metal.

"Jammed between lock and jamb. Make-shift lock." River explained.

"Well, it's lucky I have my own little locksmith." Simon smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Now the better question is why was our door locked like that? Something isn't right. Mei, mei, I want you to stay here, ok?" Seeing River's eyes go wide, he added, "I think it will be safer for you until we can figure out what's going on. That was no accident."

"Want to stay with you. Feel safer with you." River said quietly.

Simon sighed. He wasn't sure what was going on but at least River would be with him.

"Ok, but just stay behind me. I don't want anything happening to you."

River gave him her best exasperated look and mumbled, "Overprotective."

Simon couldn't help but smile. "Maybe a little, but you're still my little sister. Besides, there isn't anyone else I'd rather have watching my back." Simon said with a grin.

Slowly and carefully, Simon and River ascended the staircase leading to the upper levels. Passing a viewport, River tugged on Simon's sleeve and pointed. "Shuttle leaving." River said simply.

Simon looked out the viewport and River was right. One of Serenity's shuttles was in the process of moving away from the ship. "That's not the right side for Inara's shuttle. Who could be taking the other one? And where? We're not exactly near anything." A cold feeling came over Simon. "River, I think it's important that we find either the Captain or Zoe as quickly as possible."

"Bread crumbs." River muttered. "Trail of death."

Simon gave her a worried look. "Let's try the bridge first. Mal may still be up there. If not, Wash can track him down."

Simon hurried forward, hearing River's feet pattering after him. Coming around the corner, Simon saw Wash slumped against the threshold to the bridge. River gave a soft cry at seeing him down. Once at Wash's side, he breathed a sigh of relief at feeling a pulse. Wash came to a moment later.

"Ugh, what happened? Feels like a ton of bricks hit me." Wash mumbled. "I was talking to Saffron one moment and then the next thing I know, I see you two. She said she wanted to see the stars. I certainly saw stars. Something is not right about that woman." Seeing River, he tried to smile at her. "Not the best time for our dinosaur battles but they're coming, I promise you."

River smiled gently. "More important things, now. Later stegosaurus fights."

Getting to his feet, Wash tried to open the door to the bridge. "It's stuck. No, it's actually fused shut. What the hell is going on here?"

"I think the Captain's young wife is a bit more than what she makes out to be. River and I saw one of the shuttles launch as we were coming up here and someone locked us in our room, I'm willing to bet it was Saffron."

Wash nodded slowly. "I think you're onto something doc. We better alert everyone. I'll get Zoe, Jayne, and Kaylee. We'll need them to get into the bridge. Try and find the captain. His quarters are right down that ladder." Pointing in the right direction, Wash started off towards his own bunk to get his wife.

"River, can you go to Shepherd Book's room and get him?" River nodded. "Thanks mei-mei, I don't think we're out of the woods yet."

River looked at him sadly. "We're not." With that she turned on her heel and hurried off back towards the passenger dorms.

Simon found the correct ladder and scrambled down it, nearly tripping over Inara's prone form once he entered the room. _Inara?_ _What is she doing here?_ Simon's gaze continued onward and saw the captain lying a few feet away. Quickly checking both of their pulses, he was relieved to find steady ones in both Mal and Inara. _They must have been drugged._ Lifting Inara carefully up, he placed her on Mal's bunk. After setting her down, Inara began to stir.

"Mal!" Looking up she gave a confused glance. "Simon? What are you doing here? What's going on?" Inara blurted out.

"I'm not sure, I came down here to find the captain and I found you both unconscious . I think Saffron took one of..."

Inara's eyes flashed. "That vixen did take one of the shuttles. She said something about being Malcolm Reynold's widow before she attacked me. She certainly is not what she appeared to be."

Simon frowned. "Then she must have locked River and I in my room and knocked out Wash."

Inara's expression quickly changed to fear. "Wash! Is he ok? I didn't even look towards the bridge, I was just concerned with getting to Mal."

"He's fine, but the bridge is fused shut. He went to get Jayne and Kaylee is see if they can't get inside." A clattering of boots and choice swear words echoed from above. "Speaking of Jayne, I take it he's awake." Simon said dryly.

"What about Mal? Is he ok?" Inara asked, worried.

"He seems to be just knocked out. His breathing and heartbeat are both regular so I'm not too concerned with his health. However, I have a feeling once he regains consciousness, he's going to want to know what's going on and I don't have anything to tell him besides his little bride from a backwater moon managed to knock him and his pilot out and lock us in our rooms." Simon frowned for a moment and looked at Inara. "What happened to you? You were also down when I came in."

"What, oh, I uh...when I saw Mal, I was so startled I must have fallen and hit my head. I'm ok now, nothing to be worried about." Inara said hurriedly. Simon looked closer. She almost looked like she was blushing...

Just then, a coughing noise sounded behind them. Simon turned around to see the captain trying to get to his feet.

"What the hell is going on?" Mal mumbled. "Where's Saffron, the last thing I remember is kissing..." Mal trailed off when he noticed Inara sitting not five feet away on his bunk.

"Oh captain, it seems that you certainly found a "special" girl." Book said dryly as he descended the ladder into Mal's room, River following closely behind. Without a word, River handed him another thin piece of metal. Book's room must have been locked too.

"Now hold it right there, Shepherd. She took advantage of me!" Mal exclaimed.

"Poison apples." River muttered.

Both Inara and Simon both looked startled. Simon spoke first. "Mal, you said you kissed Saffron?" Looking shamefaced, Mal nodded his head. Simon continued. "Why didn't I think of this earlier? She probably had some kind of narcotic lip balm. We used to see that in the emergency room from time to time. Women would kiss and then rob a man."

"Well, whatever she did to me, she's going to pay. Now somebody answer me! What the hell is going on?"

Nobody seemed to want to meet the captain's angry gaze. River spoke up. "So many answers, none of them clear."

"Well, doesn't that answer everything?! Thank you genius!" Mal exclaimed.

Simon scowled at the captain. "Nobody knows what's happening at the moment, Captain Reynolds, so there isn't a need to take your frustration out on my sister."

Mal held Simon's gaze for a moment, his steely eyes boring into Simon. When he spoke again, it was quieter. "You may be right Doc, but right now, something's happening and I need to know what and I don't have time for answers that aren't clear." Turning Book and Inara he spoke, "Everyone get topside."

As Simon climbed out, he looked and saw Jayne yank the door to the bridge open.

"Still don't know what that woman was doing but whatever it was, she knew what she was doing." Jayne paused and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Must say, I do like that in a woman."

"How bout you keep them fantasies to yourself Jayne, and let's figure out what's going on here." Mal said as he stormed into the bridge.

Wash hurried over to the pilot's console and began flipping switches. "Ok, our navigation system is out but I can see she's programmed a new course in. I can't override it until we can fix whatever she did to our control panel." Wash stated as he gestured at the tangle of wires under the console.

Simon glanced over Wash's shoulder and cringed when he saw the mess. A sudden movement alerted him to River's presence at his side. "River, why don't you just try and stay out of the way right now, ok?" Simon asked as he glanced at her.

River regarded him for a moment before speaking. "Nobody believed me." With that, she turned and left the bridge. Simon stared after her sadly. There was so much going on and he wanted to help River feel better after the captain snapped at her. He was contemplating going after her when Wash spoke up.

"Mal!" Wash looked up. "It looks like we're heading towards a ...net."

Looking around at everyone's expressions, Simon felt that familiar sinking feeling in his stomach. Whatever this "net" was, it couldn't be good. Knowing this was out of his realm of expertise, he made up his mind and hurried out after River.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Still own nothing. Wish I did since Fox seems determined to kill every good show that's ever on._

_A/N Thanks to everyone that has sent PMs and reviewed. Unless I have major ideas come through, this will be the last chapter of this particular story I realized that some parts move rather quickly with other characters but I wrote this to reflect Simon and River and not so much the other crew. Please continue to read and review! _

"River?" Simon peered into her room. She didn't seem to be in there. Crossing the hallway, he checked his room as well. Simon opened the small closet and checked under his bed. Still no River. Simon sighed. River seemed to be upset but not in an angry fashion when she left the bridge a few minutes ago. She seemed almost resigned and that killed Simon inside. He didn't want River to give up on herself and he hadn't helped matters by asking her to stay out of the way. He felt a little frustrated with himself for missing the clues on Saffron that River had picked up early on. It didn't matter that the rest of the crew had missed them as well. River seemed to know and tried to get him to listen to her in her own way and he didn't. He let her down and that was worse than anything that was going to happen with whatever the "net" that Wash mentioned. He still hadn't figured out what that was about.

Shepherd Book walked past Simon's doorway, seemingly lost in thought. "Shepherd!" Simon called out to him. Book paused and turned around, a forced smile on his face.

"Yes, doctor?"

Swallowing a bit nervously, Simon asked, "This net Wash mentioned. What exactly is it?"

Book hesitated and then spoke slowly, the smile sliding off his face. "It won't do me any good to be less than honest with you. It's an electromagnetic field that is contained within a spherical frame. It's designed to disable a ship's electronics and at the same time, it runs a current through the ship itself. Basically, the ship will act as a superconductor and we will be electrocuted." he finished.

Simon merely stood, dumbstruck before quietly asking, "Is there anything we can do?"

"Wash and Kaylee are working on overriding whatever Saffron did to the navigation equipment. We only have about twenty minutes though. The captain and Jayne are currently working on getting a plan B together to disable the net itself should Wash and Kaylee not be able to get the nav system back up. Book laid a hand on his shoulder. "If you can't help right now, I'd try and stay out of their way."

"What will you do?"

Book looked at Simon. "I'm a shepherd. I'll pray." With that, Book continued on towards his room.

Simon sank down on the floor, stunned. _When did it all come to this? It seems every day is another life or death scenario. I took my sister out here to be safe and I'm not sure if I've put in her more danger. No, that's not right. She'd be worse if I hadn't. We have people who truly care about us here. Speaking of people who I truly care about, I need to find River. _

Simon bolted up from the floor, chastising himself for his moment of reflection. _Book said about twenty minutes. No time for self-pity now._ Walking into the cargo bay, he quickly scanned the area, and caught sight of his sister sitting up the upper catwalk. Quietly walking up the stairs, he took a seat next to her. They simply sat next to each other, silently enjoying each other's company in what might be their last moments. Simon tentatively put an arm around her and pulled her gently towards him, no words needing to be spoken between them. River offered no resistance and simply absorbed the hug. She didn't seem too concerned with what was going on. _Perhaps it's best this way. I wouldn't want her to be scared. _He looked down at her with a sad smile._ She truly is a gift. If these really are my last minutes in the universe ,this isn't a bad way to spend them,_ he thought.

"Going to be alright." River's muffled voice came out of Simon's shoulder.

"Hmm? What's that, River?"

"Captain will save us. He always does." River lifted her head up and looked at Simon. "Has plan."

Simon looked down at her and smiled. "I'm sure he does." Simon wished so hard for that to be true.

River frowned and looked at him. "He does." she insisted.

Just then, Jayne and Mal came sprinting into the cargo bay, Jayne carrying his affectionately named rifle, Vera. Simon watched as they quickly got into two of the ship's deep space suits. Simon let go of River and hurried down the stairs.

"What exactly is the plan and what can I do to help?" Simon asked, wanting to be of some use.

"Plan is to use Vera to shoot a focus point out on that frame. Should short the whole thing out if we hit it right." Jayne explained. Simon was surprised Jayne didn't seem as irritated as usual talking to him. Then again, he was going to get to shoot something so maybe that's why he wasn't in his usual bad mood.

"Help me with this gorram zipper." Jayne grumbled trying to reach behind him to secure the back of the suit. Simon stepped behind Jayne, located the zipper and pulled it up behind his neck before snapping it closed. River had followed him down and had already had Mal zipped and snapped shut. Handing Mal and Jayne their helmets, he quickly checked that each man's was secure. After the first time Simon had put his helmet on wrong, he made sure he knew how to put it on if there was ever another time. Jayne quickly covered Vera in a spare suit to give the gun its required oxygen to fire.

"Good luck, Captain. Jayne." Simon nodded to each man. River gave a cheery wave. Simon opened the inner airlock doors and waited for each man to step into the airlock before closing them behind. River stood on her tiptoes, trying to peep out the porthole into the airlock.

"River, why don't you come back a bit? They're going to need to fully concentrate." Simon gently took hold of River's arm and led her away. Simon wanted to see for himself but the last thing he needed was to annoy Jayne when he had a gun, even if they might already be seconds away from instant death.

The seconds seemed to turn into hours as Simon awaited the outcome. It might be fatalistic thinking but it was oddly peaceful since there was nothing he could do one way or the other. The situation was out of his hands. He was with his sister and if he had to go, he could think of a lot of worse ways. At least it'd be quick. As he glanced at River, he watched her eyes slowly gaze around the cargo bay, still seemingly unconcerned with the whole affair. A flash of light came through the portholes and Simon tensed instinctively. Several seconds passed. Then the time stretched into a full minute. He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath and he exhaled. Simon looked over and saw a full grin appear on River's face.

"Made it." She said softly.

Just then, the inner airlock door began opening and Mal and Jayne walked back into the cargo bay. Jayne removed his helmet and let a victory whoop. Mal couldn't keep the grin off his face as he removed his own helmet. "Didn't scare you, did we doc? Just like to keep things interesting around here."

"So what happened?" Simon asked.

"Well, Jayne shorted out the frame with some fine shooting and then put some shots through the control room windows. Shouldn't have a problem with those folk again. Explosive decompression tends to end a lot of arguments." Mal finished.

"I see." Simon said a little uneasily. Truth be told though, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense that it ended that way. The people manning that station were unscrupulous and downright murderous. The 'verse would be a better place without them.

"Jayne, what say we go see how Wash and Kaylee are coming along? Then we can see about going after my wife. Seems we have some talking to do." Mal's face darkened as he said those words. "In the meantime though, doc, why don't you and your sister meet us in the dining room. I think we could all use a small celebratory drink to commemorate still being alive." Mal started to walk away and then turned. "Oh and doc...you were right. I shouldn't have snapped at River. River, I'm sorry."

River nodded her acceptance of his apology and gave him a half smile. "Lots of things going on. Not in your right mind. Understand though." Mal and Jayne walked off towards the bridge, still grinning and slapping each other on the back.

Simon watched River walk to the side of the bay, running her hands along the walls, smiling as she did so. Even if she didn't come right out and say it, Simon knew Serenity and its crew meant a lot to her. Simon decided it probably would be a good idea to socialize with them now, given that they seemed to be out of immediate danger. Plus, if he wanted to partake in any celebratory spirits, he should hurry since Jayne already had a head start. He turned towards River who was now eyeing the deep space suits with something akin to longing.

"Why don't we go join the rest of the crew? Might be nice to relax a little." Simon said.

River reluctantly turned back towards Simon. "Have something to celebrate, then we should celebrate."

He smiled at her. "That's right, not dying is a good enough reason for me right now." With his sister in tow, Simon headed towards the dining room. Taking a seat at the table and accepting a cup of Kaylee's engine stilled wine, Simon noticed how quickly the mood had changed from tense to something almost conversational. River eyed his wine appraisingly and gave Simon a questioning look. He sighed and smiled.

"Just a taste." He said.

River took his cup and took a small swallow before making a face like she'd been sucking on a lemon and passing it back. Simon couldn't help but grin at her expression. Kaylee was just finishing telling Mal and Zoe what Saffron had did.

"...so all she did was cross the wires from the nav computer and locked it down. Nearly had to pull the whole console out to get at what she did. Whoever she really is, she's a real pro."

"Pro or not, she's got some answering to do, and I aim to get my answers one way or another." Mal said with a hint of malice in his voice.

Simon glanced over at Inara whose expression had noticeably tightened at the mention of Saffron. Simon frowned. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but it seemed like something else had happened to her before he found her in Mal's room. _She said she was out because she hit her head. But she's incredibly graceful, I wouldn't take her for a clumsy type. Wait, could the narcotic have lingered on Mal's lips? Surely Inara wouldn't have...Mal? and Inara? Nah, couldn't happen. Not in a million years._ Simon finished his train of thought and noticed River lining up utensils left at the table into some abstract design. Deciding that knives weren't the safest thing for her to handle, he replaced hers with spoons. She blew out an exasperated puff of air at his switch but luckily didn't make any other signs of annoyance. Tuning back in the conversation, Simon heard the next step.

"Wash, did you locate the beacon on the shuttle?" Mal asked.

"Just got a hit on it. Small moon about an hour away. She didn't go far. I've already set a course." Wash answered.

"Good. Jayne, you're coming with me. Inara, I'd like you to fly Jayne and I to the shuttle's location. With any luck, that witch will still be around. Have a talk, finish our business, then Jayne and I will retake the shuttle and rendezvous back here. Quick and simple. Zoe, you're in charge while I'm gone. Everyone else, your time is yours while we do this. I want _Serenity_ to remain in orbit though. Be easier to sneak down in a smaller ship. I'll make up some shore leave at our next stop. Even though it's only been a few days, I think everyone could use another break. Before that comes, let's be taking care of our business." Mal finished with his hand resting on his holster.

Everyone got up and began their various tasks. Wash headed back to the bridge watch the course. Kaylee headed back to the engine room to coax a little more speed out of the ship. Zoe took Mal aside and began carrying on a whispered conversation. Jayne began disassembling Vera and cleaning her, no doubt hoping to work in a little more action later on. Shepherd Book and Inara took their leave and headed back to their respective areas, Inara to begin prepping her shuttle, Book to his room. Simon looked around and saw River slipping through the doorway leading back to the passenger dorms. He debated following her for a moment then caught the captain's eye as he stood up from his conversation with Zoe.

"Captain, if I could have a word..." Simon walked over saying.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later, Mal had returned from his "talk" with Saffron. Jayne had returned with a full magazine in his gun and was obviously a little disgruntled about that fact. Simon had sought Mal out again when they returned and now Mal and he stood in the cargo bay.

"You're sure you want to do this, Doc?" Mal asked.

"It's not for me, Captain but I know it will mean a lot to her." Simon said.

Just then, River blissfully glided into the cargo bay and looked towards them. "Simon?" She asked questioningly.

Simon held out a space helmet towards her. "Want to see those stars a little closer?" With a grin splitting her face, River bounded towards him and threw herself at him with a bone crushing hug. "I'll take that as a yes." Simon managed to wheeze out.

"Ok, you two, let's do this. Can't be hanging around all day but I suppose a half hour or so wouldn't do any harm. I'll be coming out with you just in case. Simon, I've set the helmet radios to channel two. Those will be between you and your sister. I'll be on channel one and Wash will be on that channel as well on the bridge if you need anything." Mal couldn't quite hide his smile at River's enthusiasm as she quickly got into the suit.

_The things I do for my sister._ Simon thought as he reluctantly began putting his own suit on.

Twenty minutes later, Simon was beginning to feel the slight stirrings of claustrophobia setting in as he floated outside the ship, one hand grasping one of _Serenity's _panels and the other holding on to River's gloved hand. Simon heard a click as someone came onto his channel.

"You know Doc, you are tethered to the ship and I told Wash not to play any practical jokes like starting the engines or anything. You don't have to hold on." Simon could hear the amusement evident in Mal's voice as he spoke.

"I...I know, just, um, can't be too safe." Simon croaked out. With a laugh, Mal switched radio channels back, leaving Simon and River on their own channel. He looked at her, smiling at the look of utter delight on her face as she gazed out into the inky blackness, backlit with bright stars. She turned her head to look at him and smiled at his own expression.

"Simon?" Her voice came in over the radio.

"Yes, mei-mei?

River was quiet for a moment then the radio clicked again. "Thank you. Kept your promise from the last time." She held up her hand and his and squeezed their gloves together. Even though the pressurized suits prevented any physical feeling from the gesture, Simon could still feel the meaning of it, flowing from her heart to his. He kept their hands together for a moment, holding them up and showing her he was squeezing back. For what seemed like hours, the two of them floated there, away from the problems and frustrations of their lives. Even Simon wasn't as unnerved as he'd first been. The first time they'd done this, they'd been hiding for their lives. This time was different. Something about this experience and sharing it with River gave him some peace of mind.

Just then, the radio clicked back on. "Ok, kids. Ready to head back in?" Mal's voice came over the radio. He had wandered a bit along the ship's side, no doubt hoping to startle one of the crew at a viewport.

"I think so, Captain." Simon gently gave River's hand a tug and she obediently following him into the airlock where they waited for Mal to join them and shut the outer door. Once the door clicked shut and a buzzer rang out signifying a seal had been created, Mal opened the inner door. Quickly taking off the bulky suit, Simon thought the first breath of recycled air was wonderful after escaping the confines of his helmet. Addressing Mal, he turned to him and spoke. "Thank you again, Captain." Mal nodded and walked off towards his bunk.

"River, it's just about time for dinner, your medicine, and bed. Are you ready?" He asked turning around. He frowned. River was nowhere in sight but her flight suit was lying on the floor. _How did she get out so fast?_ "River?" he called.

"Simon." River's small voice seemed to echo around the bay.

"Mei-mei, where are you?" Simon called out.

"Here and everywhere. Seen and unseen."

Simon closed his eyes, briefly exasperated. "If I wanted to see you, where would I look?"

"Up."

Simon took a step back and looked up. River was sitting on the catwalk above him, her slender legs dangling off the edge. Climbing the steps two at a time, he slowed his pace as he approached her. Taking a seat next to her he remained quiet for a moment, just watching her as she gently swung her legs back and forth over the edge. Finally getting his thoughts together, he spoke. "River...you were right. I'm sorry I didn't pay more attention to you earlier. You always seem to have this sharp perception that I don't always understand. And now...now things are so different and it's hard for both of us. None of that is your fault, I hope you understand that. But we are together. I wouldn't trade that for anything. I promise to do better about listening to you. It's not fair because I know you get frustrated and angry with...with what happened to you. That's not your fault either. You can always come to me and I'll always have time for you. Things may not always be this way but whether they are or aren't, I love you and I want you to know that I'll do anything to keep you safe." Simon swallowed the lump in his throat and turned away to swipe his hand across his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he had shed any tears that weren't over River.

A soft hand covered his own. Simon turned to see River's own eyes watering. It was in moments like this that he saw the sister he had before she left for the academy. The sister he grew up with, the one that seemed to look up to him, even though she surpassed him in everything and he had been jealous of her own extraordinary talents. He could see it all in her luminous eyes right now. River didn't say anything for a moment, just lifted his arm and settled against his side before draping his arm back over her. Her face appeared contemplative and she appeared to be organizing her thoughts as best she could.

"Simon...hard to comprehend some things for me. Not this. I understand. You saved me. You always save me. Nobody else like you. You do so much for me and gave up so much. Means more than you possibly know. Want you to know that. Know that I'm not always right in head and nightmares come and..." River seemed to struggle with her thoughts for a moment. "Want to always be there for you too." With that River burrowed closer to Simon and wrapped her own arms around him.

Simon closed his eyes and enjoyed the embrace and serenity his sister brought him. They sat there for some time before the engines rumbled to life and the catwalk began to slightly vibrate. "Well, shall we go see if the crew saved us anything to eat?" Simon asked. River eagerly nodded her head and got up. Simon was surprised when River reached down and offered her hand to him, smiling. Returning her smile, he took her hand and pulled himself up.

"Simon?"

"Yes, mei-mei?"

"Will you read to me tonight?"

Simon put his arm around her and pulled her into a half hug. "I'd like nothing better."

_A/N Thanks to everyone that read! I tried some different techniques when writing this that hopefully made it easy to read and enjoy. I had some ideas to continue this but I decided when/if I sit down to write that, I'd make it into a new story. Special thanks to RionaEire for her suggestion for the spacewalk scene. I could see that happening._


End file.
